I have six Maxtor 300GB External USB-2 harddrives. They have been pretty reliable, but I notice that the cases tend to get pretty hot after a while. I'm hopeful a hot case means that the heat is being wicked from the drive (since the cases are metal) - but I suspect that's wishful thinking.

I'm thinking of getting a small desk fan to blow on them to help, but am wondering if there isn't anything a tad more elegant, and that doesn't cost an arm and a leg (like pulling all of the drives out of their cases and putting them in a large, cooled enclosure).

TIA,
Ewan